{"id":4505,"date":"2009-04-29T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-29T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/04\/100-serious-days-one-frivolous-party\/"},"modified":"2009-08-22T14:08:10","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T20:08:10","slug":"100-serious-days-one-frivolous-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/04\/100-serious-days-one-frivolous-party\/","title":{"rendered":"100 serious days, one frivolous party"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Carter Bundy<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my standard disclaimer when I generalize about parties: I\u2019m a Democrat, but admire many Republicans. Here in New Mexico, there are plenty of Republicans with whom I work, who I respect, and who I think are talented, concerned public servants.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There are certainly some in Washington who fit that profile as well, and for the quiet, dedicated, solutions-oriented Republicans out there, know that this doesn\u2019t apply to you.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, those serious policymakers aren\u2019t leading the GOP nationally these days, and aren\u2019t even close to having their voices heard in the public debate.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I\u2019m enjoying listening to the Rush<\/a>, Sean<\/a>, John Boehner<\/a> and Michael Steele<\/a> of 2009. Their unbridled arrogance, nit-picking, paranoia, hypocrisy and viciousness are mildly entertaining and a great sign that the GOP is not yet willing to take the major issues of the day seriously. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t say \u201cgreat sign,\u201d because actually I hope the GOP does start to focus on real issues. No one — not President Obama<\/a>, not the Congress, not state leaders, not the Democratic Party, least of all me — has all the right answers. Good, vibrant debate is healthy for policy and good for America.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Right now, though, the GOP and its hard-right spokespeople show little interest in solving problems, giving Obama a longer honeymoon and better chance of major reform with everyone else.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The last 100 days have been filled with energy, interesting (if controversial) ideas, and big solutions to big problems. Yet responses from the right, so far, have been trivial, frivolous and, frankly, not worthy of a major political party or movement.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Bashing success<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Most appalling was the Monday morning quarterbacking of our Navy SEALs\u2019 outstanding victory over Somali pirates. We exhausted peaceful options and used force as a last resort, and when we used force, it was decisive and successful. For a few days the GOP could only mock Obama, with the likes of Rush saying that Obama \u201cthe savior\u201d was taking all the credit.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Problem is, Obama gave all the credit to the military, and Americans saw him give credit. If there\u2019s a common thread to conservatives\u2019 Obama-bashing so far, it\u2019s that they invent words, policies and thoughts that have nothing to do with Obama\u2019s actual words, policies or thoughts.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A few days later, the talking points morphed into Obama holding back the SEALS. Not one of those critics was in the room when Obama was being briefed, what, 17 times? Not one of them knows what back-channel discussions were going on. Not one knew what international alliances and strategies were being developed, or what the military on the ground was telling their commander. Most importantly, in the end, the president\u2019s strategy and timing, with the brilliant execution of the SEALs, was a total success.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Democrats (almost all of us) were incredibly supportive of the October 7, 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. I told my friends that part of me was glad W<\/a> was in office. Since conservatives rarely question one of their own, Bush had a longer grace period than Gore<\/a> ever could have had after September 11 to calmly put together an effective military response.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Mocking and trashing the commander-in-chief during a bold moment of American military success is beyond frivolous — it\u2019s embarrassing, childish and disrespectful. Voters tend to notice those things.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Bowing vs. fealty<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

President Obama\u2019s a polite, genial guy. His greeting with a Saudi leader did indeed look, to me, like a bow. Big deal. So we have a respectful president who understands foreign customs.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I\u2019m even willing to concede that in this case Obama may have been too respectful under the technicalities of foreign protocol (I\u2019m not sure, but let\u2019s assume for the sake of argument that the GOP got this technically right).<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Has Obama, in any substantive way, endangered America by being polite? The far greater danger lies in the Bush administration\u2019s (and family\u2019s) propping up of a corrupt, unpopular Saudi regime that creates and coddles real terrorists.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Americans are far less safe because of the Bush family ties to the House of Saud and the festering swamp of Islamic fundamentalist psychos they\u2019ve created.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

And for the real nutjobs out there, if Obama\u2019s secretly planning a Muslim coup in America (a common theme from KKOB\u2019s<\/a> conservative listeners), don\u2019t you think he\u2019s probably sharp enough to bow to his masters only in private?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Handshakes and fist-bumps<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Similarly goofy was the criticism of — get this — the president shaking hands with another foreign leader. Nobody, including Obama, is saying Hugo Chavez<\/a> is a great guy, or an ally, or not a threat and rival on some level. But blasting the president for shaking hands? No wonder the GOP\u2019s approval rating is at 21 percent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Fox News and the GOP tried to paint Obama as a terrorist sympathizer for fist-bumping his wife during the campaign. Whoops. The vast majority of America (and about 95 percent of Americans under 40) know a fist-bump is just hello\/goodbye\/good luck\/good job — a national \u201caloha\u201d for the 21st Century. Here\u2019s a bit of unsolicited advice for older Republicans: If you\u2019re going to be petty, at least have a clue.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Trashing tax cuts<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one genuine substantive policy conservatives have latched onto, it\u2019s spending. But even on this issue, they don\u2019t come across with much credibility. Oddly, a big chunk of the signs at the tea parties ripped Obama\u2019s tax policies rather than spending.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Ummm\u2026 about 95 percent of all Americans are seeing their taxes stay at the same level as under W or are seeing taxes lower than under W. When did the GOP become the party of opposition to tax cuts? Since Jan. 20, 2009.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As far as their more legitimate concerns about spending, only a handful of Republicans like Ron Paul<\/a> and Judd Gregg<\/a> ever criticized W\u2019s budgets (which smashed all previous records for both domestic and foreign spending). The few who did speak out did so with one-tenth the venom now directed at Obama.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The GOP\u2019s important points about debt would resonate far more if their leaders over the last three decades, from Reagan<\/a> to Norquist<\/a> to W to Cheney<\/a> to Lott<\/a> to DeLay<\/a>, hadn\u2019t insisted that deficits were just fine.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Republican road map<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not in the business of telling the Republican Party how to get back on its feet, but as a citizen hoping our leaders in both parties get us through these tough times, I\u2019d kind of like to have a loyal, serious opposition.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Other than spending, where Republicans have zero credibility and reek of hypocrisy and naked partisanship, there\u2019s hardly a single substantive point that they\u2019ve focused on, at least publicly, over the last 100+ days.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That leaves the battle for ideas on Democratic turf, even more so now that Republicans have lost one of their most thoughtful and balanced senators (by the way, Arlen Specter<\/a> just flip-flopped against labor<\/a> on the Employee Free Choice Act, so let\u2019s not pretend he\u2019s a liberal or that my complimenting him is based on affinity for his policies).<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Maybe Specter\u2019s change wasn\u2019t due so much to a Pennsylvania GOP primary threat as it was a tiredness of a party that insists on marginalizing itself by focusing on phantom issues. If you\u2019ve got real, important ideas, you may as well hang out with the party that\u2019s interested in hearing them.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME<\/a> in New Mexico. The opinions in his column are personal and do not necessarily reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here<\/a>. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carter Bundy Here\u2019s my standard disclaimer when I generalize about parties: I\u2019m a Democrat, but admire many Republicans. Here in New Mexico, there are plenty of Republicans with whom I work, who I respect, and who I think are talented, concerned public servants. There are certainly some in Washington who fit that profile as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bundy-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4505\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}